Rural tourism sheds light on ethnic diversity

As the 20-year-old and two of his friends were taking pictures on the grassland one afternoon, he noticed a young Tibetan herdsman on horseback moving toward them.

"He stopped in front of us and pointed to a yurt not far away. He then said his mother had seen us on the family's pasture and insisted on inviting us for tea," Lu said. "We were so shocked and touched at the same time because you will never get an invitation like that in the big city, so we decided to follow the young man to the yurt.

"His mother was so happy to see us and made us butter tea (an ethnic Tibetan specialty). They also taught us how to eat tsampa, a traditional Tibetan staple food of roasted barley. We wanted to pay for the tea and food, but the mother strongly objected and said we were her guests," Lu said.

"We got to learn about the Tibetan culture from them and had such a good time," he said. "We all agree that spending time with the mother and son in the yurt was the best part of our trip in Garze, and that's what traveling is all about."

cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn